2.08.2010

Food and Wine Magazine's Nutella Cake

It isn't all that often that I bake. Truth be told, I skip past the baking section of cookbooks and mags for many reasons. To me, I love cooking because I can create and taste my recipe along the way and tweak it until it's just right. With baking, I lose that luxury. Everything gets mixed up and then thrown into the oven and I find myself wondering what's going on inside there. Because I can't stop and sample it (damn raw eggs) and there is little wiggle room for improvising, I find myself pacing by my oven. Is it cooking too fast on the outside? Has the inside cooked through? How about the bottom, is that getting burnt?! Oh the pressure! Kudos to all bakers out there who can effortlessly create an impossibly chewy cookie or a moist cake. I just can't handle it. I fold like an undercooked souffle.

That being said, for good measurement, I do keep some sweet treats in my recipe artillery. You know, for the occasional office birthday party. Which brings me to today and my Nutella cake. I had cut this out of the October '09 Food and Wine magazine because I have a soft spot for Nutella in all of its velvety chocolaty hazelnut glory. I think I could eat that stuff straight out of the jar with a spoon. I don't, (honestly, I swear!) but I could.

Since I'm not one for following recipes and using measuring cups (I had to dust mine off before use) this recipe was easy to follow and really not that complicated. The hardest part was getting the Nutella to swirl around in the pan without mixing it too much. Most of my Nutella fell to bottom, which was just fine by me. I actually kind of like the chunkier pieces of Nutella running through my cake. Mmmmm. Nutella. Nutella-Swirl Pound Cake

Preheat the oven to 325. Lightly grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan. In a separate bowl,whisk the eggs with the vanilla. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl and using a mixer, beat the butter with the sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the mixer set to medium low, gradually beat in the egg mixture until fully incorporated. Add the flour mixture in three batches, beating at low speed between additions. Continue to beat until fully incorporated.

Spread one third of the batter into the prepared pan. Spread half of the Nutella on top and repeat with another third of the batter and the remaining half of the Nutella. Top with the remaining third of batter. Using a butter knife, gently swirl the batter. Do not over mix.

Bake the cake for an hour and fifteen minutes, until a toothpick is inserted into the center and it comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely and then invert it onto a cooling rack and let it cool completely. The pound cake can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for three days.
* I actually let mine cool and then froze it until I needed it, then I let it thaw completely and sliced it.

3 comments:

That looks amazing. Great recipe Kate! I like that there are only a few ingredients as it can be frusterating to bake when there calls for endless amounts of ingredients...which adds up fast! I will definately be trying this soon!

About Me

Private Chef, Caterer and Food Writer, co-owner of The Skinny Beet. Self proclaimed food-geek and lover of all things Boston, cooking up original and creative recipes from my wicked Small Boston Kitchen.
Contact: KNBarszcz[at]gmail[dot]com